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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Chained by Fear by Jim Melvin

Chained by Fear, book two in Jim Melvin’s Death Wizard Chronicles, begins the story of Laylah, the beautiful sister of the evil
sorcerer Invictus.Invictus has
imprisoned Laylah in a magical tower, hoping that she’ll one day become his
queen and rule the world of Triken with him.

Laylah, however, happens to be the sane one in the
family.She’s repulsed at the thought of
marrying her own brother, let alone spending her life with a depraved lunatic
with god-like powers. She’s locked away
for seventy years—her demon blood gives her long life—before finally escaping
with the help of Invictus’s former allies.

While on the run, she meets Torg the Death-Knower, a powerful
wizard in his own right.We last saw Torg
in Forged in Death, after he had escaped Invictus’s vile prison and made some roguish
friends. When Laylah and Torg meet,
sparks fly.Literally.They are drawn to each other in a
supernatural passion that neither can explain.They only know that their fates are entwined and that they will live or
die together.

But Invictus has something to say about this.He unleashes his hideous minions to retrieve
Laylah and finally destroy the Death-Knower, the one being in all of Triken
that can oppose him.

When you pick up a Jim Melvin novel, you know you’re in for
two things:

(1) Melvin excels at world-building.Triken’s cultures, magic, and monsters all
resonate with real-world mythologies.But
Melvin adds unique twists that make them at once familiar and alien.

(2) Melvin’s Death Wizard Chronicles are adult fantasy.Make no mistake, this series is far more
G.R.R. Martin than J.R.R. Tolkien due to its sexual content and violence. However, I did not think the sex and violence were
gratuitous, and I thought it helped illustrate either the depravity or
kindness of the characters.

Chained by Fear resolves a minor quibble I had
with Forged in Death.Torg was too
powerful in book one, and nothing could hurt him unless he allowed it.It’s the challenge that Superman's writers have dealt with for decades: how do you make readers worry about a character who
can’t be hurt?

Melvin solved this by giving Torg cherished friends.He may not die if he fails, but
his friends surely will, and in gruesome ways.Torg’s adventures were far more harrowing this
time around, and gave him the chance to demonstrate his honor and
strength while he protected the people he loves.Melvin
nicely sets up a character in Torg who is the polar opposite of the
wicked Invictus.

And the fact they love
the same woman will make their inevitable battle viciously personal.I’m looking forward to it.

1 comment:

Jim has a way of bending one word against another when it comes to grand scale imagery. There's something archaic and haunting in his viewpoint that translates well to the character's viewpoints. It's a great series and it has had its run yet. A lot of growth coming up in future installments.

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Unless otherwise noted, books submitted for review have been provided free of charge to the New Podler book review blog. The majority of these are ebook versions of print editions. The Podler Staff do not receive any compensation for reviews.

INDEPENDENT NOVEL AWARD

The Independent Novel Award (INA) recognizes the best indie-published books that have been reviewed on this blog.

In 2016, the winners were Madam Tulip by David Ahern, The Colony by RM Gilmour, and The Silver Mask by Christian Ellingsen.

In 2015, the winner was Tethered Worlds: Blue Star Setting by Gregory Faccone.

In 2014, the winners were Chained by Fear by Jim Melvin and Noise by Brett Garcia Rose.

In 2013, the winners were Realmgolds by Mike Reeves-McMillan, Black Book: Volume 1 by Dylan Jones and A Calculated Life by Anne Charnock.

In 2012, the winners were Lunch Bucket Paradise by Fred Setterberg, This Jealous Earth by Scott Dominic Carpenter, Oathbreaker Book Two: The Magus's Tale by Colin McComb, We Live Inside You by Jeremy Robert Johnson and M. Terry Green's Shaman, Friend, Enemy.

In 2011, the winners were Flaming Dove by Daniel Arenson, Being Light by Helen Smith, Gunshot Stigmata by Scott C. Rogers, Oathbreaker Book One: The Knight's Tale by Colin McComb and Mirror Shards, an anthology edited by Thomas K. Carpenter.

In 2010, the winners were Skygirl and the Superheroic Legacy by Joe Sergi, Arguing With Henry by Niall Hunter, ZombieStop Parade by Richard Buzzell and The Losing Role by Steve Anderson.

In 2009, Shooting an Albatross by Steven R. Lundin won the Independent Novel Award.

In 2008 no award was given.

In 2007, Chion by Darryl Sloan won the International Print on Demand Book Award, the precursor of the INA.

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